For years, rooting against the New York Yankees in October has forged a common bond among Yankee haters nationwide. But this year, the Yankees failed to make the postseason for just the second time since 1993. As a result, many Americans are grappling with a vexing question as the playoffs get going this week: Which team should we hate now?

To help solve this existential crisis, The Wall Street Journal created the Major League Baseball Hateability Index, which ranks the nine teams that were still in the postseason as of Wednesday morning based on how easy they are to hate. The rankings are based on how each team scored in 10 contempt-worthy categories.

Not surprisingly, the winner was the franchise that has transformed itself into the West Coast Yankees: the free-spending, resurgent Los Angeles Dodgers, who scored a 10.2 on the hateability scale. The Boston Red Sox (8.5) and Detroit Tigers (7.5) also put forth a strong showing.

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By contrast, the Cleveland Indians, who played the Tampa Bay Rays in the American League wild-card game Wednesday night, appeared barely hateable at all, ranking last with a score of 2.8.

There are a variety of reasons why people pick certain teams to root against. Some reflect personal biases—like hating East Coast teams—more than anything else. But to provide an objective measure of each team's hateability, the Journal began with some basic characteristics that fans of non-playoff teams tend to resent.

One was success. Teams received one point for every World Series championship they've won in the last 25 years. (This got the Red Sox and St. Louis Cardinals off to a fast start.)

The next was wealth, since teams that spend their way to victory—as the Yankees long have—inspire envy. Teams received a point for their 2013 payrolls, in multiples of $100 million. And they received a point for every player on their roster with a contract of $100 million or more.

Since fans seem to love nothing more than to shout "Ste-roids!" at players busted for doping, teams were given one point for every player on their roster who has been suspended for violating baseball's performance-enhancing drug policy.

Teams also were cited for exhibiting poor taste. One of the more disturbing recent trends in the game has been the proliferation of nondescript, obese, fuzzy mascots that are wholly unrepresentative of the team's name. Any team employing such a creature got a point. Offenders included the Red Sox, for Wally the Green Monster; the Indians, for Slider; and the Rays, for Raymond. (Get it? Ray-mond?)

Additional points were awarded to teams that use more than one alternate jersey. If you think having too many uniforms is no big deal, you didn't see the visual monstrosity that occurred last weekend when the Texas Rangers and Los Angeles Angels both showed up for their game wearing bright-red jerseys. This kind of red-on-red crime could only be blamed on the sheer number of jerseys some teams carry to help merchandise sales.

Another area where teams scored points was for the propensity of their fans to invade opponents' ballparks en masse. Nothing fosters resentment quite like fans that travel well, especially if it results in the opponent's park being pompously nicknamed things like "Fenway South."

Similarly, teams received points for regularly referring to their fan base as "Nation," as if they've conquered the country. With all due respect to the revitalized Pittsburgh Pirates, there is no "Bucco Nation." It's just a bunch of excited people from western Pennsylvania.

An abundance of national media attention also helps a team's hateability, so teams received a point for every Sports Illustrated magazine cover that featured them in 2013. And speaking of popularity that fosters resentment, teams received a point for each of their executives who has been played by Brad Pitt in a movie. Not to name names.

as an innocent bystander in the last year of the old Yankee Stadium, I saw a group of Yankee fans verbally abuse a Red Sox fan for 4 or 5 innings. When he finally had his fill and turned around and lambasted them, they ran to the usher and complained. The usher came and kicked the Red Sox fan out........'nuf said.

The worst part about the metric is assigning a point for each win. I don't think that is a source of hate by most fans unless it is coupled with the other metrics of buying a championship or use of illegal drugs. Without that skewing affect, St. Louis would be much lower on the hate index.

While the Dodgers are a truely hateable bunch of spoiled Hollywood Starlets, my Stalwart Boston Boyos are nationally beloved for their gritty, worst to first comeback season, their down in the dirt style of play, their lack of divas and prima donnas and their affection for small children and fuzzy, little injured animals.

Good set of hate criteria, but it could be improved. For instance, how about a point for every outlandish, freaky hair assemblage or whatever or whatever they are. And then there could be bonus gross-out points for the frequency, volume and style of spitting, a category where Francona should dominate but there are others.

I was fortunate enough to attend the 2004 WS Game 4 in STL (as a Cards fan) and sitting in the nosebleed seats we had a pretty fair mix of Boston and Stl folks. Everyone was having a blast! One of the Sox fans sitting near me even said something to the effect of "Wow, this is great! We would have NEVER gotten this kind of reception at Yankee Stadium! And the fact that we are blowing away your team and you guys are still civil is amazing!"

First of all, thanks for all the comments – they were almost as good as the article.

Next, thanks Tom for pointing out the overuse of the word “hate” and the Yankees.

The problem is that there is not a good word in the English language to express what many of us feel about the Yankees. It’s an annoyance . . a disgust . . a loathing . . they succeeded for so long -- for so many of the wrong reasons . . it’s a frustration – they always seem to be the team that beat the team we love.

It isn’t just that they won . . it’s the arrogance . . the mega-arrogance of A Rod (and that he always seems to be dating the type of girls we could never hope to talk to) . . Steinbrenner Sr. . . Reggie Jackson (Mr. October . . the straw that stirs the drink) . . the fact that they won the Washington way – by throwing money at the problem.

Do the Yankees have anything good? Mariano Rivera sure seems like a class act. (With him gone, we can loath in peace.)

I, for one, think if your “hatred” goes so far you can’t even have a friendship/relationship with someone who supports the opposing team, you’ve gone WAY too far. (In the South friendships are broken – or never established -- over college football alliances.)

It’s supposed to be a “friendly” rivalry. Some trash talking is allowed. But do it while sharing a beer (or Pepsi, for non-drinkers, like me).

Right now, I’m conflicted. I’m a Red Sox convert (one of my best friends is a big fan; there's no team in Oregon) but the team I respect the most is Tampa Bay. That the Rays have stayed competitive in the toughest division in Baseball -- with a payroll one-third (or so) of the Evil Empire -- is a tribute to their farm system and management.

Oh, on the "Hatred Index":

1. I’d add a point for any team that got a public subsidy for their stadium;

2 I'd add 2 points for any team that threatened to leave town if they didn’t get such a subsidy.

3. I'd subtract 1 point for any team that won but that hadn't won for 25 years, prior. (The Red Sox are still historic losers and the Cubs -- if they ever get a win -- are too.)

And, great writing to suggest a point off for having Brad Pitt play an executive. I laughed out loud.

I think it should really be pointed out that Cardinal Nation actually IS a nation-wide phenomenon. The Cardinals have the largest geographic distribution of fans in baseball, thanks to decades as the westernmost and southernmost team in the Majors (until the Giants and Dodgers moved from the New York area to California in the 50s, the establishment of the Colt .45s/Astros and the Braves migrating from Milwaukee to Atlanta in the 60s) and the massive broadcasting power of KMOX (50,000 watts, and which today can be picked up in Scotland and South Africa).

So it's not that Cardinals fans visiting other stadiums are making a road trip. It's literally the fact that Cardinals fans live EVERYWHERE (Musial was once stunned on a visit to New Zealand when he discovered that even New Zealanders were following Cardinals baseball).

So we have forgotten 2011 when those lovable team oriented boys from Boston threw in the towel (losing 21 out of 28 through lack of effort if memory serves), sabotaged their manager who had brought the Sox to their first Championship in 86 years, and then another , and took the spectacular swan dive that continued right into 2012 taking them from first to worst? Classy bunch of guys those 2011 Sox.

The Hatred Index measures how people feel about teams from other cities. #1 and #2 apply to the Resentment Index which measures how much the local taxpayer feels about the hometown team. That index includes factors such as:

3. How many times players were arrested in the past 12 months4. How many years of consecutive ticket price increases5. Whether the stadium is named for a corporation not headquartered in the city

This team is not arrogant. Precisely the opposite. It's a team with few stars and no divas made up in large part of cast-offs and journeymen and managed by a quiet, self-effacing man with little or no media glorification.

In fact, this team's lack of arrogance is probably the main reason for its success.

I do believe there truly is a Bucco Nation, sorry to say for the author of the article. In many South Florida towns and in many other towns I travel to, there are bars and other places specifically set up for transplanted Pittsburghers to watch their sports teams.

Now that the Pirates have a winning team again, and also judging by how the Wild Card was one of the highest rated baseball games, I think there may truly be a "Bucco Nation".

I don't think this is correct. Wherever I have lived or traveled, there are always Cub fans (including my college roommate from NC). WGN Superstation makes them national known. Add the Wrigley Field mystique and the lovable losers label and they leave the Braves and TBS in the dust.

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